A Change Of Plates In Indiana

Illinois has stuck with its blue and white "Land of Lincoln" vehicle license plate since 1983, but not so Indiana.

Hoosier law calls for a new license plate design every five years.

Indiana residents just concluded their third statewide license plate design contest. The new plates will appear on 1998 cars.

Kevin Hoggatt of Rosedale, Ind., a high school teacher and part-time disc jockey, was the winner among the 1,600 entrants in the last contest six years ago. He dreamed up Indiana's current "Amber Waves of Grain" plate with a black silhouette farm scene and a yellow and red sunrise.

"I was watching TV and sketching. I was trying to come up with something that would connect all parts of our state," he said.

Hoggatt did not enter this year's contest. That's good news for the 1,321 people who did. The winner, who will receive nothing more than the pleasure of seeing his or her design on many of Indiana's 5.2 million license plates, will be announced in July.

Besides the "Amber Waves of Grain" plate, Hoosiers can order one of the state's 38 Special Recognition license plates, each benefiting a state program. Among them are plates promoting Indiana's 19 colleges and universities, 7 military-related endeavors and 12 other organizations, including the Indiana Dance Association, the Indiana Black Expo and the Indiana Literacy Foundation. Indiana earns $2 million annually from specialty license plates.

The "Kids First" plate, with small hand prints and red, blue and green letters that look as if they were drawn by a child, is the state's most popular plate. Proceeds ($25 per license) benefit programs to fight child abuse and neglect. A close runnerup is the bald eagle environmental plate with the funds going to buy land and conserve state parks.

Perhaps Hoosiers have more options because they expect more with license plate fees substantially higher than those in Illinois. Indiana license fees are tied to the window sticker price and age of the car.

Indiana motorists with a new car worth $42,500 or more pay the top rate of $530, an excise tax used to fund county and local governments, schools, police and fire protection, hospitals, roads, libraries and other services. This is down from $1,063 thanks to a Tax Reduction Law that took effect this month.

Why does Indiana require only a back plate, while Illinois and 30 other states require license plates in the front and rear? National and local law-enforcement officials concerned about apprehending traffic violators and criminals are the primary promoters of the two-plate system but the Indiana State Police hasn't pushed for the change.

"We are not convinced at this point that a second plate on the front is going to make that much difference," said Steve Hillman, assistant commander of the Indiana State Police Information Office.

On the other hand, Hillman said the proliferation of the state's specialty plates does pose a problem for police. "There is confusion there. It's not like it was 20 years ago when you could look at a plate" and immediately identify the state.